第六回 与女孩见面之前

Paulo Coelho

在即将见到心仪的女孩之前，是什么让这个牧羊少年变得开心起来呢？又是什么让牧羊少年单调的生活有了期盼？ 是心心念念的女孩，还是其他？ 抑或是兼而有之？ 你能从文章中找出一句揭示本回小说主题的句子吗？

Track 03

The horizon was tinged（给……着色） with red, and suddenly the sun appeared. The boy thought back to that conversation with his father, and felt happy. He had already seen many castles and met many women but none was the equal of the one who awaited him several days hence. He owned a jacket, a book that he could trade for another, and a flock of sheep. But, most importantly, he was able every day to live out his dream. If he were to be tired of the Andalusian fields,he could sell his sheep and go to sea. By the time he had had enough of the sea, he would already have known other cities, other women, and other chances to be happy. I couldn't have found God in the seminary, he thought, as he looked at the sunrise.

Whenever he could, he sought out a new road to travel. He had never been to that ruined church before, in spite of having traveled through those parts many times. The world was huge and inexhaustible （无穷无尽的）. He had only to allow his sheep to set the route for a while, and he would discover other interesting things. The problem was that they didn't even realize that they were walking a new road every day. They didn't see that the fields were new and the seasons change. All they thought about was food and water.

“Maybe we're all that way,” the boy mused（冥想）. “Even me—I haven't thought of other women since I met the merchant's daughter.” Looking at the sun, he calculated that he would reach Tarifa before midday. There, he could exchange his book for a thicker one, fill his wine bottle, shave, and have a haircut. He had to prepare himself for his meeting with the girl, and he didn't want to think about the possibility that some other shepherds, with a larger flock of sheep, had arrived there before him and asked for her hand.

It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting, he thought, as he looked again at the position of the sun, and hurried his pace. He had suddenly remembered that, in Tarifa, there was an old woman who interpreted dreams.

1. What made the boy happy before he met the girl?

2. Which sentence most probably implies the theme of this chapter? Can you share your own story about this theme with your classmates?

3. What would happen in the next chapter according to the underlined sentence?